The foreign ministry is warning the public to be wary of scams involving fake donations for international relief efforts. Foreign Secretary for Asia and Africa Anthony Chung-Yi Ho (賀忠義) says that current examples include schemes originating out of Dubai and Yemen, where there is an ongoing civil conflict.
According to Ho, scammers use fake documents and photos to impersonate diplomats claiming to be stuck in war zones such as Yemen. They then contact Taiwanese people through social media or email asking for money to help them escape the conflict. Other schemes involve asking victims for funds to help send international aid packages.
Ho says that this is just one of many recent online scams aimed at Taiwanese people. He says other cases such as fake job ads in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe have already been highly publicized. Now he says criminal syndicates are taking advantage of major incidents in global affairs to scam the public. Ho warns the Taiwan public to remain vigilant in avoiding these scams.